The Strictly Low Histamine Diet

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Month: March 2014

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According to Dr. Heinrich Kremer of the Cell Symbiosis Therapy Academy,

‘Histamine dilates the small blood vessels to make them permeable to larger immune cells. It also causes fluid to move from blood vessels into the tissues. This leads to swelling and pressure on nerves of the affected tissues, which can lead to migraines, painful tension in the throat, neck, spine, thigh and adductor muscles.
Acute inflammation can also cause temporary arthralgia and neuralgia (rheumatism, sciatica, lumbago, trigeminal neuralgia).’

High-protein diets shorten lifespan, two studies say

People on high-protein diets are likely to lose years of life along with the weight they shed, according to two studies.
It’s nearly as bad as smoking, says Dr Valter Longo, co-author of a study in the journal Cell Metabolism.

The most healthy mix is a high-carbohydrate, low protein diet, say Australian scientists who have published a study in the same journal.

This leads to increased body fat, but a longer lifespan, say the scientists from the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre. They tested 25 different diet combinations on 900 mice to see what happened to their appetite, metabolic health, ageing and lifespan.

“We need to look at where the calories come from and how they interact.” Although the mice on a high-protein diet ate less and were slimmer, they also had a reduced lifespan and poor heart and overall health.

Those on a high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet ate more and got fat, but lived longest.

The mice that ate a high-fat, low-protein diet died quickest. “It is an enormous leap in our understanding of the impact of diet quality and diet balance on food intake, health, ageing and longevity,” Prof Simpson says.

Co-author Professor David Le Couteur says the study is an important step towards understanding what constitutes a healthy balanced diet.

It indicates it might be beneficial for people to eat the right diet in the right proportions and let the body dictate the correct amount of food.

“If people want to live long, healthy lives they can look at their diet and exercise. That will do more good than taking all the pills in the world.” He says the healthiest mice had the lowest levels of the branched-chain amino acids derived from animal protein and often used by body builders The results are entirely parallel with the US study.

They found meat, fish and dairy products are probably causing harm.

“We provide convincing evidence that a high-protein diet, particularly if the proteins are derived from animals, is nearly as bad as smoking,” says the University of Southern California’s Dr Longo.

His study analysed the diet of 6831 middle-aged and older adults.

Those who derived more than 20 per cent of their calories from protein were four times more likely to die of cancer or diabetes than other people.

Baby wipes linked to rise in skin problems

Dermatologists are reporting increasing numbers of parents and carers presenting with skin problems linked to using disposable baby wipes.

In a research letter published in The Medical Journal of Australia on Monday, dermatologist Rosemary Nixon from the Skin and Cancer Foundation reports that an ingredient used to prevent bacterial infection in moist wipes is now the most common cause of dermatitis in patients sampled.

The preservative, methylisothiazolinone or MI, accounted for 11.3 per cent of skin reactions in 353 patients seen at two clinics last year, up on 8.4 per cent in 2012 and 3.5 per cent in 2011.

“We’re seeing an increasing number of allergic reactions,” she said. “It could be because the concentration might be too high because it’s been on the skin too long, or because the skin is damaged, allowing the chemical to get through the epidermal barrier.”

Professor Nixon said patch testing for the ingredient started in 2011, after similar reports surfaced in Europe. She said the trend was also occurring in the US where, like in Australia, the preservative has been used in a range of water-based products, including cosmetics and personal products such as deodorants, shampoos, conditioners, sunscreens and moisturisers since the early 2000s. Professor Nixon said she expected dermatitis caused by using wet wipes was probably under-diagnosed in adults, with many people putting the allergic reaction down to other factors because the red itchy rash appeared up to 48 hours after contact. In infants, an allergic reaction might be put down to nappy rash.

“I’m sure we only see the tip of the iceberg in our clinic; there’s probably a bit more out there than people realise,” she said.

Fatal histamine poisoning

Earlier in 2014 two people met a tragic death after eating fish. The culprit was found to be scombroid poisoning.
Scombroid poisoning is a now-outdated term for histamine fish poisoning. It is also sometimes known as pseudoallergic fish poisoning, histamine overdose, or mahi-mahi flush.
Histamine is colorless, odorless and tasteless. Scombroid fish histamine poisoning is hard to detect without scientific equipment, and can be fatal.
‘The term scombroid was used because the first fish species implicated in this poisoning were from the suborder Scombridae, which includes mackerel, tuna, marlin, swordfish, albacore, bonito, skipjack, and almost 100 other species (Scombridae is derived from the Greek word scombros, which means mackerel or tunny). The term histamine fish poisoning is now considered more appropriate because many cases are from nonscombroid fish. Examples include mahi-mahi (dolphin fish), amberjack, herring, sardine, anchovy, and bluefish.’

Doctor warns scombroid poisoning involved in Bali death of Noelene and Yvana Bischoff is not rare

A BRISBANE doctor who treated his wife for the same type of food poisoning which killed a Queensland mother and daughter in Bali says the illness is more common than most people think.

Noelene and her 14-year-old daughter Yvana Bischoff died while holidaying in Bali in January.

The subsequent autopsy indicated that they died from a combination of scombroid poisoning from food that was suspected to be tainted and existing medical conditions.

Experienced Daisy Hill general practitioner Nick Stephens cautioned that scombroid poisoning is actually not that rare, after treating his wife for it last year.

“It’s the most common form of fish poisoning in the world,” Dr Stephens said.

“But on the other hand, the complication of death (resulting from scombroid poisoning) is rare.”

Having been in the industry for 35 years, Dr Stephens was stunned when his wife Lorraine turned up at his clinic on Melbourne Cup day last year with systems of scombroid poisoning.

Mrs Stephens had been out for lunch at a South Bank restaurant when she and three friends had a major reaction about ten minutes after eating mahi mahi fish – the same variety the Bischoff’s had consumed shortly before their deaths.

Dr Stephens, 64, said when his wife arrived at his work she was bright red, having palpitations and struggling to breathe.

“I’ve never seen a patient ever look so red with a headache and the palpitations. So, obviously, with a severe dosage it can kill,” he said.

Dr Stephens said an analysis of the symptoms left him in no doubt that his wife had suffered from scombroid poisoning, even though it can be difficult to confirm.

“You cannot run a blood test or doing anything else to confirm it,” he said.

“They’ve had exactly the same problem with these people overseas, they can’t confirm it but they can’t find anything else.”

Since the attack, she has suffered from pancreatitis, which her husband believes may be a rare complication from scombroid poisoning.

Pastured eggs contain more nutrients

Hens allowed to roam free in grassy pastures filled with weeds and wildflowers have access to an extensive range of nutrients. Numerous insects, worms and beetles thrive in green meadows. Thus, in addition to the valuable plant materials available to the hens, they can also feed on mini-beasts which are naturally rich sources of protein, vitamins, enzymes and minerals.

Pastured eggs are lower in stress hormones

Caged hens are constantly under stress. Some become so distraught and anxious due to their imprisonment that they pluck out their own feathers. The ‘stress hormone’ cortisol has been linked with obesity, decreased immune function and osteoporosis. The low levels of stress in free-roaming, contented hens means fewer stress hormones – such as cortisol – pass into the eggs and thence into our bodies.

Pastured eggs are better for you

A study looking at the Vitamins A, E and fatty acid composition of the eggs of caged hens and pastured hens found that:
‘Compared to eggs of the caged hens, pastured hens’ eggs had twice as much vitamin E and long-chain omega-3 fats, 2.5-fold more total omega-3 fatty acids, and less than half the ratio of omega-6:omega-3 fatty acids (P<0.0001). Vitamin A concentration was 38% higher (P<0.05) in the pastured hens’ eggs than in the caged hens’ eggs…’

Please note!

The team behind “Is Food Making You Sick? The Strictly Low-histamine Diet” is always updating the book to reflect the latest scientific research. Look for the 2017 edition. The date is printed on the front cover and on the title page.

Flaxseeds (the 2014 and 2015 editions) are no longer listed as suitable for people with histamine intolerance.

Despite still being listed as “well-tolerated” by the Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI) and other reputable sources, coconut is no longer recommended for HIT sufferers. It has been added to the “foods to avoid” list in the book. Recipes in the 2017 edition have been revised accordingly.

The Strictly Low Histamine Diet is just that – strict. Our aim is to exclude any foods that possess even a minimal chance of aggravating the condition.